News

Ten people are dead, one of them the suspect, after a shooting at a Munich shopping center which shut down the city for hours. Police believe the attacker was an 18-year-old German-Iranian; his motive's not yet known.

What we know so far:

Police say a suspect committed suicide, and that they now believe he had acted alone. There was "no indication" of other shooters, after probing two false leads, Munich's police chief said.

Ten people, including the suspect, have so far been confirmed killed in the shooting at the Olympia shopping center in the north of Munich. The attack took place shortly before 6 p.m. local time.

At least 16 people were also injured, with Munich hospitals calling in extra staff to respond.

Police said they currently believe that the attacker was an 18-year-old German-Iranian who had lived in Munich "for a long time," but are still conducting checks. The motive was "unclear" at this point; the teenager had no criminal record.

Public transport in and around the city was suspended for several hours but restarted early on Saturday morning. Locals were ordered to stay indoors by police, who mobilized 2,300 emergency services personnel.

People wishing to enquire about relatives or missing persons can contact the following telephone hotline: +49(0)8007766350

Live updates:

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC)

03.44 The situation seems to be calming here, just as the sun rises above the river Rhine in Bonn. Stay tuned for a wrap-up of the night's events on dw.com shortly.

03.18 Munich's police sign off after a hectic night on Twitter with well-wishes for those affected.

"Finally, the most important thing. Our thoughts are with all the injured and their loved ones, and we mourn the dead with you," the tweet says.

02.52 Munich's police plan another press conference to provide updates on their investigations at or around midday local time (10.00 UTC) on Saturday.

02.40 French President Francois Hollande described Friday's shooting as a terrorist attack, pledged support for Germany, and said that he would speak with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday morning.

"The terrorist attack that struck Munich killing many people is a disgusting act that aims to foment fear in Germany after other European countries," Hollande said in a statement. "Germany will resist, it can count on France's friendship and cooperation."

02.11 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wakes to the news of the evening's attack in southern Germany.

01.58 A German-language hashtag was trending on Twitter during the attacks, "offeneTüren" or "open doors." People in Munich invited people stranded in the city, with the attack taking place near rush hour for commuters and halting public transport, to come and shelter in their homes. Here's Munich's police lauding the locals for their response.

"We are moved by the Munich population's willingness to help. #offeneTüren. Many thanks!"

01.50 Brewers in Munich have called off a beer festival that began on Friday and was scheduled to run all weekend, citing the "unclear security situation." The festival was celebrating 500 years of Germany's beer purity law.

"We regret this greatly and would ask you to share this information, so that on Saturday and Sunday nobody comes to the planned event in Munich," the organizers said in a statement on the festival's website.

01.40 Hubertus Andrä was also asked during his press conference whether he saw any parallels to Monday's knife and ax attack on a regional train in Würzburg, also in Bavaria. So far, no connections were apparent, the police chief said, albeit stressing police were yet to identify a motive.

01.28 During Friday evening's major mobilization in Munich, more than 2,300 emergency services personnel were on duty. These included Munich police, elite units from Bavaria and the states of Baden Württemberg and Hesse, the federal police's elite GSG9 units, and Austria's special taskforce Cobra. Roughly 100 people went to the police precinct to shelter.

01.02 Police say that 21 people have been hospitalized in total since the attack, 16 of whom are still undergoing treatment and three of whom are seriously injured.

00.48 Fielding his final question, police chief Hubertus Andrä says that it's too early to comment on the motive - or whether this was a terrorist attack or somebody running amok. The motive and the nature of the attack will probably be closely connected, he says.

00.46 Police chief Andrä says that "according to initial information," children were among the wounded. However, he says he can't give further details until verifying identities and contacting those involved.

00.45 The police chief Hubertus Andrä is still fielding several questions from reporters in Munich. He explains that police now plan to investigate the suspect's background and speak with people close to him. This process could be swift, he says, as investigators believe they know who the shooter is.

00.41 Andrä says "no information available to us suggests that police officers were injured" in the operation, but cautions that he can't categorically rule it out at this stage.

00.33 Asked about the reports of "up to three" suspects, Andrä says that "because of eyewitness reports we were forced to work on the assumption of two to three shooters." Several erroneous reports, including claims of secondary shooting sites in the city center, had circulated in the minutes and hours after the attack.

00.31 "I ask your understanding that we do not want to say anything about the people killed at this time," police chief Andrä says, adding that investigators were still verifying identities and contacting relatives of those affected.

00.28 Hubertus Andrä told reporters that the suspect was currently thought to be an 18-year-old German-Iranian citizen who had lived in Munich for some time. Police had shot at him before he apparently turned his own gun on himself. The motive for the attack remained "unclear," the police chief said.

00.19 Munich's police president, Hubertus Andrä, calls Friday "without doubt my most difficult day" in the role. He says the reason for a search for "up to three suspects" was a false lead on two potential suspects, who turned out to have nothing to do with the attack.

00.17 Police press conference starting....

00.04 Clear message from the Munich police to people sharing images or videos of the victims or the shooting: "To everyone who is publishing images of victims: STOP DOING THAT! Have some respect for their loved ones' grief."

00.02 Images from police press conference coming onto our screens in the newsroom, but still waiting on the officers to arrive. This follows their cautious message suggesting that the attack might be over, with a single suspect having committed suicide.

23.57 German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has welcomed international wishes of solidarity, which have flown in from all over the world. "It's comforting in these hours to know that our European friends and our international partners are standing by our side," the Social Democrat said.

23.27 Important news just in from Munich police. They are issuing a "cautious all-clear," saying the one man they found dead committed suicide. This man is "with a high probability" the shooter, and is thought to have acted alone, police say. Cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Previously, law enforcement was searching for up to three people.

23.15 Public transport services are running again in Munich, the police announce.

23.12 Munich police will hold a press conference at or around 2 a.m. local time, or just under an hour from now.

22.54 Hillary Clinton takes to Twitter to say she is "monitoring the horrific situation in Germany," signing the message with an "H" to indicate it was written by her and not a staff member.

22.50 EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini expressing solidarity in German on Twitter: "#Munich. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all Germans. Europe stands united," she writes.

22.36 Police say they know of at least 10 people injured, but warn that the situation remains fluid.

22.25 US President Barack Obama's first response on hearing of the shooting.

Watch video00:26

Obama pledges support after Munich shooting

22.17 Police spokesman Marcus da Gloria Martins has updated reporters on their findings so far. Eight people dead, plus another corpse found "in close proximity" to the mall. He could "neither confirm or deny" whether the man was a possible suspect, nor comment on the precise cause of his demise: "But he didn't just drop dead." He also said that the Olympia shopping center had since been emptied.

Here are the comments in the original German.

22.13 Reminder to citizens in Munich to stay indoors from the police. Public transport remains suspended, including planned night buses and night trams.

22.06 More from Merkel's chancellery head Peter Altmaier, asked whether there were signs of an Islamist attack:

"At the current point, we are not ruling out any hypotheses. There is no clarity or certainty as yet. So I would ask that we respect the confidentiality of the investigations, so as not to endanger their chances of success. You can presume that we will of course analyze this possibility."

The video below shows the comment in the original German. Altmaier also said Chancellor Merkel was being "continually updated" on developments.

22.03 A police spokesman has told ARD television that roughly 100 people witnessed the attack. They were receiving counseling from a crisis response team, he said.

21.52 Angela Merkel's chief of staff, Christian Democrat Peter Altmaier, was asked by public broadcaster ARD whether the shooting could have been prevented: "You can only have absolute security in an absolute surveillance state, and nobody wants that, it would be the opposite of our free western European way of life," he said. Altmaier also noted that the attack had taken place on the anniversary of another mass killing.

"Today is the fifth anniversary of the terrible massacre in Norway where young people, students were killed at will by a Norwegian citizen."

21.51 New Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts to the shooting.

21.38 A fresh appeal from Munich police that people refrain from posting to the internet pictures of gunfire in Munich. You can send the evidence to investigators via the link in the police's tweet instead.

21.14 Munich police have confirmed that public transport in and around Munich is still suspended.

21.04 Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere is to return to Germany from his holiday in New York, where he arrived on Friday night. He was on the aircraft during the shooting attack in Munich.

21.01 British foreign minister Boris Johnson issued a statement on the attacks, saying "I am shocked and appalled by the terrible attack unfolding this evening in Munich, and the loss of life. My thoughts are with those injured and the families of those killed," he said, adding "We stand ready to assist our friends in Germany. Our travel advice to UK nationals in the area tonight is to stay indoors and follow the advice of the local authorities."

20.53 Munich police have said they are investigating the possibility that one of the people who died was involved in the shooting:

20.45 Chancellor Merkel's Chief of Staff, Peter Altmaier, has said on German television that it is not possible to confirm a terrorist link to the Munich shooting, but an investigation is ongoing.

20.26 DW English Newsroom in Bonn spoke with Stephie, 30, who lives in central Munich, by telephone on Friday night. She told DW she had just arrived home when she heard about the shooting from a friend.

"Of course I was very shocked, I think it's terrible what's happening now in the world," she said, adding that she was supposed to be meeting friends for dinner Friday night but they had cancelled their plans and were heeding the advice from police to stay home, stay inside and avoid public places.

Stephie said her husband, who had been at Munich's airport, said the streets were very quiet but he was able to make his way home without problems. Some of their friends were stranded in the city center.

"Everyone is stunned. Everyone is shocked," she said, adding that her plans for the rest of the night were to keep watching the news and checking on friends.

20.01 Police have issued a telephone number for missing persons' information: 0800 7766350

Information from Munich police is available in German, English, French and Turkish.

19.48 The German government has called a crisis meeting at the chancellery in Berlin in relation to the ongoing security operation in and around Munich. Police have called for people to wait for accurate information, and avoid exchanging unsubstantiated rumors.

19.35 A massive search is underway to find up to three shooters who have killed six people at or around the McDonald's fast-food restaurant at the Olympia shopping center. Up to twenty people were injured, according to police spokesman Peter Beck in Munich. The city remains in lockdown as the search continues. Asked about about a possible Islamist motive to the shootings at the news conference, Beck said authorities had "no indication" of such a link.

19.31 The number of people injured is between 10 and 20, according to a Munich police spokesman who is giving a press conference.

19.30 It is unclear how the shooters were able to escape.

19.24 Police have confirmed six people are dead following the attack around the McDonald's fast-food restaurant at the Olympia shopping center in Munich.

19.22 The deputy spokesman of Munich police department has said the situation remains unclear "We are trying to get the situation under control. We don't know where the perpetrators are."

19.08 US President Barack Obama has pledged support for Germany following the shootings in Munich "We are going to pledge all the support they may need," he said. "We don't yet know exactly what's happening there, but obviously our hearts go out to those who may have been injured."

19.05 A number of highways to the north of Munich have been sealed off and police have asked people to leave the highways clear. German border patrol helicopters are on their way to Munich, according to Bavarian broadcaster BR.

18.56 Police have confirmed that the McDonald's fast-food restaurant in the Olympia shopping center was attacked by the three shooters.

18.53 German media are reporting that Munich police have described the situation as "an acute terror threat."

18.51 Police are looking for three suspects with long guns, following the attack at the Olympia shopping center.

18.15 Munich police issued a statement on their Facebook page reporting that witnesses saw three different individuals with firearms.

18.04 Police issued warnings in English asking people to avoid public areas because of gunfire:

and that the situation remained unclear:

The police operation is ongoing:

17.55 Police are urging people to avoid public places in Munich as the situation is still very unclear and the whereabouts of the alleged shooter or shooters is unknown:

Media reports in Germany cited local police saying that several people were injured and some may have been killed as shots were fired in the Olympia shopping center (OEZ) in Munich, southern Germany on Friday evening.

Police said the situation remained unclear but that several people had been injured:

The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" newspaper said it received confirmation of the incident from the police, shortly before 6 p.m. local time (16.00 UTC).

Police asked that no photographs or videos of the police operations be taken or put online:

Police responded with a major operation surrounding the area. They issued a short message on Twitter encouraging people to stay away from the shopping center:

and to remain in their homes:

Workers at the shopping center told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that they could not leave the shops.

Television images of people escaping from the center were shown. They included women and children walking quickly away.